Japan: Real GDP Growth Q4 2019

Japan’s economy declined in the fourth quarter of 2019, as the GDP shrank by 0.38% y/y, seasonally adjusted. This was the first negative change in 2019 and the worst performance in five years. Back then, in Q3 2019 the economy contracted by 0.89% y/y.

Private consumption, accounting for approximately 40% of nominal GDP, dropped sharply by 2.11% y/y, after it grew by 1.3% y/y in the previous quarter. Fixed investment declined by 0.7% y/y in Q4 2019, and both exports and imports had negative contributions, dropping by 2.3% y/y and 4.3% y/y, respectively.

The annual growth rate of Japan’s economy in the full year 2019 averaged 0.76%, improving slightly from 0.33% in 2018. During the last decade, after the global financial crisis in 2009, Japan’s real GDP growth averaged around 1.3%.

Detailed data and analysis on Japan’s Real GDP growth can be found in the CEIC Japan Economy in a Snapshot – Q4 2019.